Losing top talent can be hard on your business – both financially and emotionally. On average, a company loses 1% to 2.5% of its total revenue in the time it takes to get a new hire up to speed.
It can be uncomfortable and upsetting to deal with employee exits and transitions, but there are ways to make sure your organization understands its talent pool and is proactive in preventing turnover.
So, what can you do to keep your talent engaged? It all starts with getting your entire organization on the same page. And a successful strategy can’t be developed in silos. Building an authentic and meaningful strategy takes commitment from every employee.
Employees, managers, HR, and leadership are all responsible for playing their part in the success of your talent development strategy. Explore these tips for incorporating each level of your organization in the talent mobility wheel.
Leaders and managers are your first line of defense when identifying rising stars or talent risk, so generating an aligned talent development strategy is key. But first, your leadership team needs to make a commitment to investing in talent development.
Facilitate strategic talent planning sessions and clearly outline the criteria your leaders deem imperative to identify and hire top talent. You can then develop a direct path for fostering an engaging employee experience from acquisition to retention. Talent reviews should play a major role in this strategy, so be sure to enforce these at all levels of the organization.
The CEO and leadership team can also create a snowball effect by recognizing other leaders and managers who advance top talent.
Your HR team plays a critical role in talent development, overseeing all key components of an effective talent development strategy, from recruitment to performance management to succession planning and beyond.
HR should scale its knowledge and experience to help streamline talent reviews and employee development. They should reinforce the talent development commitments set by the leadership team by providing progress reports, sharing survey results, and analyzing employee feedback. HR can also coach managers on how to collect and act upon talent data.
HR should strive to make every member of the organization feel more comfortable with internal talent mobility by setting clear expectations and processes.
Elevating talent can be hard for managers. They might fear losing people who are making big contributions to their team’s success. But organizational leaders and up-line managers should consistently encourage managers to do what’s best for the entire organization.
Managers should consider internal talent first when filling a new role. They should nominate the best people to take on new roles, even though that might mean a rock star employee has to leave their team.
Managers should seriously consider feedback they’ve received from career and development conversations to understand their team’s ambitions and advocate for talent. These conversations can fuel an employee’s trajectory and improve retention.
While managers play a crucial role, it takes a village to build a community of talented, culture-aligned, brand advocates at work.
Employees should be open with managers about their interests and intentions. They should actively seek opportunities for growth and development, and communicate openly and honestly, especially about uncertainties.
Allowing employees at all levels to provide input and do their part in curating an engaging culture at work will help you make more strategic, proactive talent decisions across the organization.
Want to learn more about cultivating a talent development strategy that retains top talent? Download our ebook, 6 Steps to Knowing and Growing Your Talent Pool to get started.
Published September 25, 2019 | Written By Jocelyn Stange
